Ibadan, 6 September 2024. – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has set the launch window for its 53rd Electron Launch which will be the second of five dedicated launches for the French company Kinéis. The ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ mission will tentatively launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a 14-day launch window that opens on September 17, 2024, NZST.
This mission will launch just three months after the ‘No Time Toulouse’ mission, Kinéis’ first launch with Rocket Lab. Kinéis’ constellation will consequently connect any object anywhere in the world and guarantee the transmission of targeted and useful data to users, in near-real time, with low energy consumption with more powerful 30kg-class nanosats that integrate IoT technology.
In addition, the constellation includes a second mission: a ship-tracking Automatic Identification System (AIS). Upon deployment, these technologies will enable Kinéis to expand across multiple industries and scale from 20,000 devices connected to millions. Furthermore, the second constellation launch will add five new satellites to its planned 25, enhancing Kinéis’ ability to connect the planet and address essential challenges for humanity.
Rocket Lab has specifically tailored the Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ launch to meet Kinéis’ mission requirements, giving them greater control over the launch schedule, orbit, and deployment parameters than would be possible on a larger rideshare mission.
For example, after the first Curie engine burn to circularize the Kick Stage’s orbit, Curie will ignite again for an eight-second burn to set a specific argument of perigee, enabling Kinéis to deploy five satellites to a precise location for each one of the five launches. Likewise, Rocket Lab will deploy all five satellites in a precise sequence in singles and as pairs to build out the constellation exactly as Kinéis needs it.
